


rootkit

by anisstaranise



Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Law Enforcement, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-03
Updated: 2014-12-03
Packaged: 2018-02-28 00:35:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2712506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anisstaranise/pseuds/anisstaranise
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Luck wasn’t responsible for everything that went right in Sebastian’s life, but it certainly helped him along.<br/>Amidst the hundreds of other candidates that trained and graduated from the academy in Quantico, Sebastian was one in four specially selected to join the Federal Bureau of Investigations’ Cyber Division; a branch dedicated to investigating and prosecuting internet crimes.<br/>As his career with the FBI thrived, so did his personal life. As luck would have it, Sebastian had bumped into Blaine Anderson.</p>
            </blockquote>





	rootkit

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by selected scenes/arcs from _The Blacklist, Person of Interest_ and _Scorpion_.
> 
> Originally written for Seblaine Sunday Challenge: **Disguise**.
> 
> For [Dee](http://archiveofourown.org/users/define_serenity), whose encouragement provided much needed motivation and inspiration.  
> Thank you for agreeing to read the drafts and thank you for the comments.  
> I doubt I could’ve finished this without you.
> 
> Update (Aug 2017): Graphic for fic made my the amazingly talented [@ttinycourageous](http://ttinycourageous.tumblr.com/)

_ _

 

_rootkit_  
Software.  
Hidden,  
Designed to attain privileged access to a computer.

 

 

You could say Sebastian Smythe was the luckiest man in the state. True, he was smart and dedicated, he worked hard to be where he was, but all of that amounted to nothing without a little bit of luck in a place like Washington D.C.

Amidst the hundreds of other candidates that trained and graduated from the academy in Quantico, Sebastian was one in four specially selected to join the Federal Bureau of Investigations’ Cyber Division; a branch dedicated to investigating and prosecuting internet crimes.

Not just a ‘computer nerd with a pretty face’, as the division’s Assistant Director called him, Sebastian was capable in the field. His outside-the-box deduction skills earned him a place as a field agent rather than another behind-the-desk analyst, often offering insight to the perpetrators’ personalities that helped predict their next move by profiling the way they aligned their keyboards or how neurotically they encrypted their hard drives.

Luck wasn’t responsible for everything that went right in Sebastian’s life, but it certainly helped him along.

\---

 

A year into his time with the FBI’s Cyber Division, he had helped solve most of the high profile cases of computer intrusions and cyber frauds that threatened National Security. It was his impressive record that led him to join a special task force assembled to take down an organization that claimed to be ‘protecting’ the citizens from the government’s invasion of their electronic privacy; Manumit.

Although not a physically aggressive or violent organization, Manumit was still a threat to National Security. They hacked into government databases and released sensitive documents- the contents of which, should it find its way into the wrong hands, could have devastating consequences on the country and its people.

Sebastian’s intelligence and luck managed to foil Manumit’s schemes on several occasions but they were never close enough to apprehend any of the organization’s members. They always seemed to be a step ahead of Sebastian and his team- almost like they knew how his mind worked, knew what he was thinking.

As his career with the FBI thrived, so did his personal life. As luck would have it, Sebastian had bumped into Blaine Anderson, spilling coffee over his jacket as he was leaving the Federal Triangle Metro station. To anyone else, it would’ve looked like an unlucky episode but to Sebastian, knocking that cup of coffee was the luckiest thing to have happened to him.

Sebastian and Blaine fell hard and fast for each other. Any given moment, they would be mouth to mouth, skin on skin. Sebastian was in love. And he was loved.

Yes, you could say Sebastian Smythe was the luckiest man in the state.

\---

 

“You brought your work home again,” Blaine huffed exasperatedly at Sebastian, who was half asleep at the kitchen table- laptop opened, files and documents scattered.

Sebastian shook the sleep from his head and reached out for Blaine’s hand. The digital clock on his computer showed that it was past 11pm. “I’m sorry.” He kissed Blaine’s palm over and over, etching his sincerest apologies into the skin.

“We had a deal, Sebastian.”

“I know. I’m sorry,” Sebastian sighed. He pulled Blaine into his lap and wrapped his arms around the other man.

“Shouldn’t you be more careful with this stuff? I’m pretty sure it’s sensitive information- all of this,” Blaine said, gesturing to the mess on the table before them.

“Yeah, but it’s you. You’re my husband.” His reply was laden with trust.

Over the years, Sebastian’s career with the FBI continued to grow, and so did his love for Blaine. After a year of dating, Sebastian decided that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Blaine and immediately proposed. And immediately, Blaine had said yes.

Two years into their marriage, Sebastian knew all there was to know about Blaine: how Blaine liked to accompany an anecdote with a philosophical quote- _Delusions are as necessary to our happiness as realities_ , Blaine had said once after telling Sebastian about one of his students’ refusal to practice his piano theories but still expected to play well-

And how Blaine loved it when Sebastian grazed his teeth along his collarbone when they made love- which always coaxed the response of “ _Fuck, Bas. You’re driving me crazy_ ”-

And how Blaine absolutely _hated_ it when Sebastian brought home his work.

“I’m really sorry about this. I was on a roll earlier- I didn’t want to lose the momentum but I didn’t want to stay at the office so I thought I’d work here.” Sebastian gave Blaine his most apologetic look as he traced his thumb on his husband’s back.

Blaine sized up Sebastian and he knew that his husband was deciding whether to let him off the hook or to be angry. Finally, Blaine sighed. “Please, can we keep our work and home life separate from now?”

A triumphant smile danced across Sebastian’s lips. His apologetic ‘look’ had worked. Blaine wasn’t mad and he was grateful for it. He pulled Blaine down to kiss him- determined to relay just how grateful he was.

A desperate meowing from the living room broke the moment. Sebastian groaned. “Urrgh. That’s the third time this week. He shouldn’t be climbing onto things if he doesn’t know how to come down on his own.”

Blaine laughed against his lips. “He’s just a kitten, Sebastian. He’s learning.” With a playful nip at his lips, Blaine started to get up from his lap to rescue their kitten, Norton, from whatever furniture he managed to get himself stuck on top of.

Sebastian began packing up his work when he noticed Blaine had paused by the kitchen doorway.

He was chewing the inside of his cheek- a tell Sebastian knew to mean that he was contemplating saying something important.

Blaine inhaled deeply, pushing through whatever was holding him back, “You know you gotta learn to be patient with the kitten because a kid is gonna be so much more demanding.” He smiled, then turned to address the incessant, desperate meowing.

Sebastian felt like bursting with happiness. They’ve talked about adopting a child for awhile and now- now it seemed that they were ready.

Quietly grinning as he continued to pack his work, Sebastian concluded that there wasn’t another man in the world luckier than him.

\---

_Manumit_  
verb; historical  
To set free, release from slavery.

 

The news reported another attack by Manumit. This time it attacked a firm that specialized in collecting individuals’ personal information from their online profiles and selling it to various organizations, including the government. The firm was indirectly responsible for the death of a young businesswoman who was killed by her stalker in her home after the company published her current address online.

“Unbelievable,” Blaine spat, disgusted. “The case will never go to trial. The board members will get nothing but a slap on the wrist. I hope those hackers take them all down.”

Sebastian sat beside his husband, an arm draped over the back of the couch. He moved his hand to gently stroke Blaine’s ear in an attempt to calm him down. The news usually riled Blaine up- especially news related to Sebastian’s work.

They never discussed Sebastian’s cases but it was common knowledge that a threat to National Security such as Manumit would be investigated by the FBI’s Cyber Division. He thought it was adorable that Blaine worried the way he did.

“Don’t make it so those hackers are heroes, babe.” Sebastian let out a small laugh. “They are criminals. Thieves- just with a different set of skills.”

“The line between good and bad is pretty thin for those hackers, I think- doing the lesser of two evils.”

“What? Like it’s okay to invade the government’s computers to protect the people’s computers from being invaded by the government?” Sebastian teased.

“Something like that,” Blaine pouted.

Sebastian reached for the remote to switch off the television. He pulled Blaine closer into his chest and kissed his temple. “You have such a big heart- such compassion. But I suppose, when it comes to those hackers, you are either good or you are bad. The thin line is there for a reason.”

Blaine turned to face Sebastian. There was a gleam in his eyes that Sebastian, with all his deduction skills, couldn’t quite read. He passed it off as Blaine being upset about the news. _Blaine and his empathetic character_ , Sebastian thought.

“Spoken like a true federal agent,” Blaine whispered. “I suppose you’re right." Blaine slowly pushed Sebastian into the cushions until his entire body was covered by Blaine’s. “When it comes to doing something criminal- even if you claim it’s for the greater good, you can only choose one side: good or bad. Anatole France did say ‘ _We must die to one life before we can enter another_ ’.”

With a smile, Blaine leaned down and kissed Sebastian deeply, so sensually that Sebastian forgot to ask what he meant by that.

\---

 

The wooden doors of the freight elevator groaned as Sebastian pushed it upwards and it opened to reveal a room whirring with adrenaline. The entire warehouse, which was commandeered by the federal government to house the task force responsible in taking down Manumit, was abuzz.

The screens hanging high on the walls were illuminated with information; each displaying photos and details of suspects- medical histories, criminal histories, even an image of a receipt from a gas station where a suspect was last seen. A DMV photo of a young woman- blond hair, late twenties- occupied one of the screens. Sebastian smiled looking at the face- it was the face of the person they had just successfully apprehended.

For weeks, Sebastian and his partner, Agent Hunter Clarington, have been working with their team of analysts to track down Quinn Fabray, a known member of Manumit- who was also believed to be a lieutenant of the organization.

He had noticed a distinct patch used in one of the recent hacks made by Manumit. Upon further inspection, he realized that there was a pattern to the codes- a unique pattern, like a signature on a masterpiece painting. And that had led Sebastian right to Quinn Fabray.

“Great job today, Agent Smythe,” Sebastian’s commanding officer, Assistant Director Roz Washington said in greeting as they both stood behind the one-way glass window of the observation deck.

Hunter entered the interrogation room on the other side of the glass, sitting opposite a very collected Quinn Fabray. Before firing off questions, Hunter made certain that Quinn understood the charges against her and their severity. She seemed unfazed and remained silent.

“Who do you work for, Quinn?” Hunter’s voice travelled through the intercom. “Come on, I can’t help you if you don’t help yourself. Are you willing to carry the entire organization’s penalty alone? That’s a really long time locked away in a maximum security prison.” Hunter was intimidating, but his questions were only met with silence.

“Do you think what you’re doing is noble? Do you think your parents would approve if they were alive today?” Without wasting any time, Hunter went for personal hits. He was trying to goad a reaction out of Quinn.

It worked. For the first time since the interrogation began, Quinn looked directly at Hunter. Sebastian was hindered by distance and glass but he saw her eyes momentarily flicker with emotion. Guilt maybe?

Sebastian smiled behind the glass. He may be good with patches and codes but Hunter had a way with words and people- knew how to get them to react, how to get under their skin.

“You had a great life before Manumit, Quinn. A bright future. Graduated with honours from MIT. A great job with a tech firm. Then to go from that to this?” Hunter was playing on her guilt. Quinn squirmed slightly in her seat but quickly composed herself and the unfazed demeanour returned.

And for the first time, Quinn Fabray spoke: “We must die to one life before we can enter another.”

The words flowed out of the intercom and right into Sebastian’s chest, knocking all air and sense from him. A pounding reverberated in his ears, through his body.

Those words. Blaine’s words- words his husband had uttered to accompany a similar notion; to leave one life behind in pursuit of another.

_It’s a common phrase. Anyone with the internet can search that exact phrase_ , one side of Sebastian debated. But the sleuth side of Sebastian- the federal agent, the one who thrived on deducing little clues such as this- countered that there are never coincidences; that two seemingly unrelated things could be connected.

What were the odds that Blaine had quoted Anatole France when they were talking about Manumit? And what were the odds that a member of said organization quoted the exact same thing? The fact that both were spoken in an eerily similar context troubled Sebastian.

Without thinking, Sebastian flew out of the observation deck and burst through the door of the interrogation room, startling both Hunter and Quinn.

“What does that mean?” Sebastian demanded.

“Smythe, what the hell?” Hunter asked, alarmed.

Ignoring Hunter, Sebastian pressed on, “ _We must die to one life before we can enter another_. What does it mean to you? What does it mean to Manumit? Is it a code you abide by?” Quinn Fabray only stared unflinchingly at Sebastian.

“Answer the question!” Sebastian shouted as he planted a fist into the table.

“That’s enough!” Hunter got out of his chair and started to escort Sebastian out of the room. He roughly tugged out of Hunter’s hold and tried to relax his breathing.

Assistant Director Washington stepped angrily out of the observation deck. “Have you lost your damn mind?”

Sebastian trembled as confusion ravaged his mind. It wasn’t like him to interrupt an interrogation, especially one as crucial as Quinn Fabray’s. He couldn’t wrap his head around what was happening. He didn’t understand why he was upset. And he certainly didn’t understand why he felt defensive. Defensive of Blaine.

“I’m sorry. I got carried away.”

Assistant Director Washington raised an eyebrow. “Carried away?”

Sebastian squeezed his eyes shut and tried to calm his mind, his heart. He composed himself as he opened his eyes to face his commanding officer. “Yeah, we’ve been working for so long to bring down Manumit and now- now we have Fabray, but from the looks of it, she’s not going to roll on her boss or whoever’s in charge anytime soon. It just- got to me.”

Washington contemplated Sebastian’s words. He could see her trying to make a decision to reprimand him or otherwise. A moment passed before she decided to dismiss Sebastian’s outburst. “You leave the interrogating to Agent Clarington, you hear me, or I will have you off this task force.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Sebastian feebly replied. He was about to follow Washington back into the observation deck when Hunter stopped him.

“If you’ve got something, tell me now,” Hunter demanded.

“I got nothing,” Sebastian lied, answering almost too quickly. He never thought he would lie to his partner. He hated the mixed thoughts and feelings battling for his attention.

Logically, there was no need to lie. The lie stemmed from his need to protect Blaine.

But there wasn’t a need to protect Blaine, was there? Logically, Blaine had nothing to do with this case. Blaine was his husband- a music teacher, not a criminal.

But the incessant nagging of his sleuth’s gut instinct forced him to consider it all. It gave life to the voice at the back of his mind- the one that said _There are no coincidences_ and _There is always a connection_.

This time it was Hunter who was contemplating his words. If Hunter could tell he was hiding something, his partner didn’t choose to press on the matter. Instead, he nodded and turned to re-enter the interrogation room.

Suddenly feeling overwhelmed by the day’s events, he grabbed his jacket and left the warehouse. He needed some air. He needed to be home.

\-- -

 

It was late afternoon when Sebastian reached home, the sight of the house he shared with his husband provided a much needed sense of comfort. The voices in his mind hushed into a whisper rather than the loud shouts, as he climbed up the steps to his front door.

A tinkling of bells greeted him as he entered his home. “Hey, little guy,” He cooed when he picked up the little kitten.

“Sebastian?” Blaine’s voice drifted down from somewhere upstairs. Blaine poked his head out over the banister at the top of the stairs. There was a tired smile on his lips, but just as breathtakingly genuine.

Sebastian’s heart stuttered at the sight. How could he ever think that anyone as genuine as Blaine could have a hand in something like Manumit? He shook his thoughts and let out a small laugh. He quickly realized his earlier worries were absurd and attributed the rash connection his sleuth nature tried to make between the words spoken by Blaine and Quinn Fabray to his tiredness- the fatigue of working tirelessly to tracking down Manumit made him see the organization in everything, even in something as unrelated as his home life.

_Yes, that was it_ , Sebastian convinced himself.

Sebastian released the kitten and watched it scuttle away. He climbed the stairs to be with his husband. Upon reaching the top, Sebastian saw that the tired smile accompanied Blaine’s frazzled state. His curls fought through the generous amount of gel that usually would amalgamate with his hair. Ever since they had started dating, Sebastian always joked that he can always tell the kind of day Blaine was having or his state of mind judging by the state of his hair. And right now, his hair was in disarray.

“You okay, baby?” Sebastian asked as he ran his fingers through his husband’s hair. Blaine threw his arms around his neck and tiptoed up into a kiss.

The kiss was everything Sebastian needed after the day’s ordeal. The voice of the federal agent whose gut instinct was to look for a connection between Blaine and Quinn Fabray was silenced once and for all.

Blaine sighed happily against his lips as they parted. “I am now,” his husband said as his fingers drew circles at the back of Sebastian’s neck. “What about you? You’re home early.”

“Yeah, I just needed to get away.”

“Oh? Bad day?” Blaine asked.

“Not really. A relatively good day actually, although slightly overwhelming.”

“Caught the bad people then?” Blaine pressed on.

And just like that, the silenced sleuth at the back of Sebastian’s mind reappeared.

_He’s fishing for information_ , Federal Agent Sebastian said.

_No! It’s an innocent question_ , Protective Husband Sebastian said.

_There’s nothing innocent about that question_ , Federal Agent Sebastian countered.

The confusion returned ten-fold, like a crash of a tidal wave to his brain. Slowly, Sebastian raised his hands to curl it around Blaine’s wrist and pulled his husband’s hands away. “You know I can’t talk about my cases.”

Blaine stepped away from Sebastian, placing some distance between them. “Right. Yeah. I’m so sorry.”

Sebastian remained quiet, his mind too loud with the recrudesced thoughts fighting one another- Federal Agent Sebastian versus Protective Husband Sebastian.

Later, Sebastian would realize that if he had been paying attention to Blaine at that moment, he would have seen Blaine having an internal debate with himself, too. He would have seen how his husband shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, how he chewed his inner cheek- the tell that Blaine was contemplating on voicing something important. He would have seen the words forming on Blaine’s tongue. Perhaps if he saw all these things, he might have reacted differently to the events that followed.

“Sebastian,” the soft call of his name snapped him out of the arguments in his mind. He saw Blaine take a deep breath before continuing. “There’s something I need to te-,”

A loud crash from downstairs followed by desperate, terrified meowing interrupted Blaine’s words and pulling Sebastian’s mind away from his disputing thoughts. “Norton,” Blaine sighed irritably. He pinched the bridge of his nose and started towards the stairs.

“No, I’ll go,” Sebastian said, as he tugged at his husband’s arm. “You look exhausted. You should rest.” He leaned down to plant a chaste kiss on Blaine’s lips and gave him a gentle push towards to bedroom. “I’ll come join you in a bit.”

Sebastian then followed the meowing down to the kitchen. A pot was on the floor by the stove- the thing responsible for the loud crash they heard earlier. Sebastian’s eyes travelled up the kitchen cabinet above the sink and found their little kitten on top of it, trying (and failing) to climb down.

“You have got to learn to come down on your own, buddy,” Sebastian whispered as he pulled a chair from the kitchen table. He climbed up to reach the frightened little thing and pinched him gently by the skin of the neck. Just as he was about to climb down, a jut at the corner of one of the wooden panels lining the top of the kitchen cabinet caught his eye.

With Norton still clutched against his chest in one hand, Sebastian cautiously toyed with the panel with the other. It was loose. His heart hammered wildly in his chest. _What is this?_

The panel came off easily enough and under it was- a laptop.

The slick silver rectangle gleamed where the late afternoon sun touched it. It looked identical to Sebastian’s laptop but he knows for sure that his was tucked away safely, along with his credentials and service weapon, in his work bag that he had deposited by the front door earlier.

Slowly, as if it could break into a million pieces at any given moment, Sebastian removed the laptop from under the hidden space. Sebastian sucked in a breath. His mind was racing, his breath rapidly entered and exited his lungs, his heart pounding.

He released Norton as he climbed down from the chair and cautiously placed the laptop on the kitchen table.

With trembling fingers, Sebastian pressed the power button and the machine whirred to life.

The black screen started loading and an image appeared.

Sebastian stood frozen.

He stared at the screen.

_No. It can’t be._

_Yes, it can. Of course it can:_

Because the world to Sebastian was a Georges Suerat painting; he can see the picture in its entirety when everyone else only saw the individual coloured dots on the canvas; that was how Sebastian’s brain worked.

Because Sebastian had a knack for solving puzzles and making connections between seemingly random things; that was what made Sebastian exceptional at his job.

Because Sebastian’s gut instinct was _never_ wrong.

The glow from the laptop’s screen highlighted the many emotions on Sebastian’s face: confusion, hurt, betrayal, fear- amongst them.

Because on the screen, the Manumit emblem stared back at him.

 

\---

 

_The cacophony of trains gliding on the tracks echoed around the sea of morning commuters. Sebastian weaved hurriedly amongst the bodies as the dread of being tardy floated uneasily in his stomach. He hated being late, but he was having difficulties managing his time since he moved to a new neighbourhood the week before._

_Sebastian stomped down the frustration of being held back by the wall of slow moving people in front of him. Just then, he saw an opening, the slight parting of the barrier of bodies. It could be his only window if he wanted to make it to work on time. Sebastian dashed forward and squeezed through the opening between the shoulders of two strangers._

_He made it through unscathed. (Morning commute was brutal; only the strong survived, Sebastian thought amusedly)_

_A relieved smile crept on his face when he pleasantly realized he might just be able to make it to work on time as he sharply turned the corner and-_

_“Oh my God!” a voice yelped._

_A compact figure hunched before Sebastian, urgently wiping the coffee that had spilled all over his jacket from when his and Sebastian’s body collided._

_“I am so sorry. I was in a hurry and I-” Sebastian muttered as he dumbly patted the other man’s jacket in his attempt to rid it of coffee stains._

_“No. No, don’t worry about it,” the man said. “Accidents happen.”_

_Sebastian could tell the man was irritated even if he politely dismissed the encounter as an accident. He continued to stare at the man’s mop of curls as the other hunched over, still trying to wipe off the coffee from his jacket. “Please. Let me get you another cup of coffee. As an apology.”_

_The man before him slowly lifted his head to face Sebastian. The moment his eyes landed on the man’s hazel ones, Sebastian felt a gush of air leave his lungs and the beat of his heart thrummed a pace faster; the man before him was beautiful._

_“That’s not necessary. I’m sure you have somewhere to be,” the man said somewhat shyly and Sebastian found the blush that formed on the man’s cheeks to be the most gorgeous thing he’d ever seen._

_“No, I insist.”_

_The man smiled up at Sebastian. A voice at the back of his mind reminded him that he was about to be extremely late for work if he didn’t sprint out of the station at that moment, but in that moment, he didn’t care. He was inclined to stay where he was; with the beautiful stranger who stood before him._

_“Well, then...” The man bashfully shuffled in front of him. “... if you insist.”_

_“I do, really.”_

_The man extended a hand. “I’m Blaine. Blaine Anderson.”_

_Sebastian took the hand and shook it firmly. A warmth Sebastian had never felt before spread through his body at the touch of their skin. Right then, during the few seconds of the hand shake, he could have sworn he got lost in Blaine’s eyes; an alarmingly pleasant sensation._

_A sudden need to impress Blaine blossomed in Sebastian and so he dialled up his charm. “Despite the unfortunate circumstances, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Blaine. I’m-”_

“Sebastian?” Blaine’s voice cut through the haze of his memories.

Sebastian recovered from his stupor, the Manumit emblem still displayed on the glowing screen. He could hear Blaine’s footsteps come down the stairs and approached the kitchen. There wasn’t time to hide what he found. And even if he had time, Sebastian was welded to the floor. He couldn’t move; his body and his mind refused to cooperate in the aftermath of such a shock- the shock of finding out that his gut instinct was right all along: Blaine was a part of Manumit.

“What are you doing in here? I was waiting for you,” Blaine said as he poked his head in the kitchen doorway. A ball of fur darted towards Blaine and he bent down to pick it up. “Did this little guy give you trouble?” Blaine cooed down at Norton.

Sebastian tried to push down the lump he hadn’t realized had formed in his throat; his heart beat forcibly against his chest. How long had he been standing in front of the laptop?

“I- uh- sorry,” Sebastian struggled to steer his mind back to the present; away from the Manumit emblem. He slowly reached to close the laptop. “I thought I would just reply some emails while I was down here. Lost track of time.”

Despite their current situation, Sebastian still hated to lie to Blaine. His heart was fiercely loyal to Blaine- even more so than it was to its own host. Even his mind was loyal to Blaine as it tried to persuade Sebastian to confront Blaine regarding the laptop. There must be an explanation- one that would make sense; both his heart and mind tried to convince him. In that moment, he realized just how much of him belonged to Blaine.

Blaine eyed him suspiciously; he could always sense when Sebastian wasn’t being entirely truthful. More than anything, Sebastian wanted to confront Blaine about his discovery but he decided to let his Federal Agent side take the reins. He quickly diverted Blaine’s attention away from the laptop on the kitchen table by suggesting that they go out for an early dinner; the fact that it was identical to Sebastian’s laptop played to his advantage. He decided he would make the call to his team to bring Blaine in for questioning when Blaine would be engrossed in getting ready.

“Early dinner, huh?” Blaine said, his eyes still trained on Sebastian. Moments passed before Blaine exhaled loudly. “I suppose that would be nice. We haven’t been out in a while, what with work and all.”

“Yeah, it’d be nice,” Sebastian muttered with a slight quiver in his voice.

“Ok, I’ll just go get ready. Give me 5 minutes.”

“Take all the time you need, babe.” Sebastian cringed inwardly. He hated lying. He hated the entire situation he found himself in. He hated what he knew he had to do.

With a small smile, Blaine put Norton down by his food bowl and turned to walk out of the kitchen. Sebastian let out a breath he didn’t even realize he was holding. He strained to listen to Blaine’s footsteps treading up the stairs. When he was sure Blaine was in the bedroom, Sebastian swiftly moved to make the call to inform his team about the information he learned.

With the laptop he found tucked under his arm, Sebastian quietly manoeuvred to the front of the house where his phone and service weapon were tucked in his work bag. Occasionally he would stop to listen for Blaine’s movement; silence. He took that as a good sign- that Blaine was somewhere upstairs, preoccupied.

The wild thumping of his heart rang in his ear and he was sure it echoed off the walls of the quiet house. Sebastian squeezed his eyes shut for a moment to compose himself; everything seemed surreal. The Protective Husband side of him felt powerless to the obligations and duties that were tied to his Federal Agent side. It had to be done. Sebastian was bound by oath- to the law, to his country; he must turn Blaine in.

With a heavy heart, he continued to tiptoe through the house. As he approached his work bag, Sebastian felt his stomach drop; a dread seized in his chest- his work bag was open. He rushed over to it and peered inside- his fears were confirmed.

“Looking for this?” Blaine whispered as he quietly emerged from the corner of their darkened living room; Sebastian’s service weapon in his hands.

“Blaine, what are you doing?” Sebastian breathed, startled- his voice small.

“I know you know, Sebastian. I always know when you’re lying,” Blaine murmured sadly.

“What do I know?” Sebastian panted; a surge of surprise, panic and a thousand other emotions ravaged through him.

“You think I can’t tell the difference between my laptop and yours?” Blaine chided as his fingers gingerly traced the hilt of the gun.

There was no point in playing dumb now. Sebastian found it to be bizarrely comforting; no more lies. As Blaine stood there, half-hidden by the shadows with a gun in his hand- it all but confirmed his involvement with Manumit.

“You’re Manumit,” Sebastian stated.

“Yes.”

There wasn’t a trace of hesitation in Blaine’s voice. The confession uncoiled something unpleasant deep within Sebastian. The Federal Agent side of him was now muted, suppressed. There was only one side now; the side of the Protective Husband who was betrayed.

_Betrayed_.

The feeling overpowered Sebastian’s every sense. The weight of the realization that his husband wasn’t the person he thought he knew almost made him keel over and he had to force down the acerbic bile that threatened to push its way up and out of him. His entire world, everything he thought he knew- was in disarray.

Sebastian had so many questions- many of which powered by anger, hurt and confusion, but he focused on one; the most important one he could think of: “Why?”

Blaine let out a sigh. He ran a free hand over his face. Sebastian saw that Blaine was shaking, and that he looked so tired. The need to comfort his husband overwhelmed Sebastian and he conjured all of his strength not to cross the room and wrap his arms around the man he loved so dear.

Instead, Sebastian stood his ground and waited for Blaine to speak.

“You know, people think that money is the most powerful thing in the world right now,” Blaine explained as he avoided looking at Sebastian. “But it’s not. Information; that’s the most powerful thing. When you have information, you have leverage. When you have leverage, you hold the power to demand anything.”

Blaine paced a little around the room, eyes now locked on Sebastian. “In college, I had this friend- Wes Montgomery. Great guy, came from a wonderful family. His father was a good man. Stand up citizen. Vietnam vet and all. Then one day, Wes gets a call from his mother saying that some men in suits dragged his father away.” Blaine paused when he came to a framed picture on the living room wall.

Sebastian followed Blaine’s eyes; it was one of their wedding pictures- both men donned matching tuxedos, a candid moment caught just as they were leaning in for a kiss. The memory of the picture added more pain to the already gaping wound inflicted by Blaine’s betrayal.

Blaine returned his gaze to Sebastian and continued. “Wes later told me that the FBI detained his dad under the suspicion that he had ties to a terrorist group planning an attack here in the US. Now, I thought that was funny- how did the FBI come to such a conclusion? Wes’ dad was far from someone you would profile to be involved in anything illegal. I mean, the man would issue a citizen’s arrest on punk kids who jaywalked. That’s how straight of an arrow he was,” Blaine stated and Sebastian saw a sad smile dance on his lips.

“So I did my digging. Wes and I were great at getting over paranoid firewalls of government servers- and we managed to hack our way to his dad’s case files. Turns out, the FBI was monitoring his dad’s emails and calls and they had all these photos of him from traffic cameras and security cameras of places he visited. In the photos, he was always pictured with this Middle Eastern man who the FBI believed to be the cousin of one of the members of a terrorist group.” Anger flashed in Blaine’s eyes, as he clenched and unclenched his fist repeatedly- a tell Sebastian knew to mean that his husband was trying to control his vexation.

“So, these _people_...,” Blaine spat, disgust laced in his tone, “...concluded that Wes’ dad was an accomplice. He was detained for weeks under some law that allowed the FBI to hold him without a charge because apparently, he was a threat to National Security.”

Sebastian shifted uneasily. He knew Blaine was about to make a point but his impatience was growing; he wanted answers- about Blaine, about Manumit, but he held his tongue and continued to listen.

“When they didn’t find anything criminal, the FBI finally let him out. But the damage was done. Every one- and I mean, _everyone_ , looked at Wes’ dad as a criminal, a terrorist. He lost his friends, he lost his job. Wes tried so hard to exonerate his dad but it was too late. People had already made up their minds. So, despite being 15 years sober- Wes’ dad turned to the bottle,” Blaine sighed. The anger in his eyes was replaced with sadness. “Wes was in the car with his dad the night he drove off the road. His blood alcohol content was twice the amount allowed for driving.”

Blaine chanced a step closer. Sebastian gathered that he may have done so on instinct to search for comfort in Sebastian’s arms- something he’d always done when he was upset, but Sebastian saw something flash in Blaine’s eyes before he could take another step; perhaps he remembered that he had lied to Sebastian about being involved in Manumit and that he had more explaining to do before he deserved the comforts of Sebastian’s arms again.

“I met the Middle Eastern man at the Montgomery funeral. He told me that Wes’ dad was his AA sponsor! That’s why there were those pictures of them together.” A bitter laugh escaped Blaine’s lips. Sebastian cringed at the sound; he has never heard such bitterness from his husband before.

“The government spied on his every move, Bas! Every move- they had all the information they could ever need on Wes’ dad and they still got it wrong!” Blaine shouted, his anger getting the better of him. “He was an AA sponsor, not a fucking terrorist. And as far as I’m concerned, the government killed Wes and his dad.”

Sebastian sympathized with Blaine and the Montgomery family. He understood the anger Blaine felt against the government- he’d seen his fair share of the Bureau’s errors that led to the downfall of certain individuals, but he also understood why the Bureau and the government did what they did, even if their methods were less than admirable; they couldn’t take any chances when it came to National Security.

“I vowed that day at the funeral that no other family would ever go through what the Montgomerys went through; that if the government were spying on its own people, collecting their most intimate information- then the people had the right to know. So I founded Manumit.”

The gravity of the confession hit Sebastian in the chest like a freight train. He thought maybe Blaine was just a member of Manumit, possibly brainwashed into accepting the organization’s beliefs- but to hear that Blaine was the mastermind who founded it left Sebastian dumbfounded.

“You _are_ Manumit,” Sebastian snarled.

The same bitter laugh escaped Blaine again. “I may have started it, but there are others out there who believe in what I believe- who bore witness to their own versions of what happened to the Montgomery family. People like Quinn Fabray. They are Manumit. _We_ are Manumit.”

Sebastian flinched at the name. So, Blaine knew they had Quinn Fabray in custody. How much more of Sebastian’s operations did Blaine know? Is that why Blaine had looked so dishevelled earlier- because he knew the FBI had his lieutenant?

Suddenly, the pieces of the past few years fell into place; the week Sebastian and the task force were closing in on Manumit and the location of their headquarters was the same week he had met Blaine.

“Meeting you at the station wasn’t a coincidence, was it?” Sebastian asked as the heat of betrayal rose within him.

Blaine cringed at the question and darted his eyes to the floor. “I was never bested before, in all my plans with Manumit. Then, I heard through the grapevine that there was this new up and coming Cyber Division agent thwarting hacktivist’s plans left and right: you. And then, you foiled one of my plans- plans I took weeks to engineer. It only took you minutes to stop it.” Blaine beamed, his eyes found Sebastian’s again. Sebastian searched the hazel eyes and found that Blaine looked _proud_ \- of him, of his skills.

Sebastian looked away as he shook with fury. All this time, he thought it was the luckiest thing to have happened to him- meeting Blaine the way he did that day. The reality that the meeting was orchestrated made him sick to his stomach and he felt like screaming and crying all at once.

“So, you planted yourself in my life? For information? Is that it? You said it yourself: information was the most powerful thing,” Sebastian bellowed as he let his frustrations, his anger, and his hurt bleed through.

“No, Sebastian, it wasn’t like that,” Blaine exclaimed. Sebastian saw a flash of panic cross Blaine’s expression. “I was in awe of you- of what I heard about you, and your work. I just wanted to meet the man behind the codes and algorithms and patches. I swear; I just wanted to meet you.” The desperation in Blaine’s voice was clear. “And then I did.” A small smile curled on Blaine’s lips.

“Then you realized what an asset I’d be to you?” Sebastian noted bitterly.

“No, Sebastian- then I fell in love with you,” Blaine disclosed; his words were laden with sincerity.

But the hurt and betrayal had dug too deep inside Sebastian for him to detect it; too consumed with the perfidious state of things to hear Blaine’s unfeigned words. This time, it was Sebastian who let out a bitter laugh. Even to his ears, it was an ugly sound.

“I love you, Sebastian. You have to trust me when I say that.”

_Trust._

The utterance of the word snapped something in Sebastian, breaking the dam of the thousand emotions rampaging within.

“Trust you?” Sebastian shouted. “Trust you- The man I just found out, who not only is a member of a criminal organization, but who also founded it? The man who has kept this- this secret from me for the past three years?”

Blaine took a cautious step forward, but stopped when Sebastian took a step back. “Sebastian-” Blaine pleaded.

“How could you do this to me? To us?” Sebastian shouted; any self control and composure forgotten. He allowed himself to wallow, to acknowledge the pain of Blaine’s betrayal. Tears pricked behind his eyes and he was severely aware of the agony that unfurled in his chest; the agony of his heart breaking. “I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you! I was ready to have a family with you!”

Blaine wore a harrowed expression and tried to take another step forward. “I am still that man, Sebastian. Despite everything, I am still that man. I am still your husband.”

“No!” Sebastian bellowed. “You’re nothing but a lie.”

Silence fell between them.

If Sebastian wasn’t too immersed in his own pain, he would have seen the pained look on Blaine’s face, in Blaine’s eyes at his accusing words. He would have noticed that Blaine’s heart mirrored his; broken.

Sebastian decided he had enough confrontation for the day and started to walk over to his work bag. He was about to reach for his phone when the clicking sound of his service weapon being loaded stilled his movements.

“What are you going to do now, Blaine?” Sebastian asked, his hurt slowly turning into anger. He turned to face Blaine who had the gun trained on him. It surprised him how well Blaine handled the weapon. A new hurt sliced at his heart upon realizing that there’s another thing he didn’t know about his husband; Blaine was trained to use a firearm. His stance, the way he held the gun- all pointed to the fact that he knew exactly what he was doing.

“Are you going to shoot me?”

“I will never hurt you, Sebastian,” Blaine said as he ignored another of Sebastian’s bitter laughs. “I will never deliberately hurt you, but I can’t let you turn me in. I still have a lot to do. Manumit still has a lot to do.”

Sebastian clenched his jaw at the mention of Manumit. Revulsion for Manumit bubbled in his veins, like he’s a jealous lover bitter over losing Blaine to Manumit. In a way, he did lose Blaine to Manumit; Blaine pointing the gun at Sebastian was him choosing the organization over his own husband. At the thought, Sebastian tightly balled his fists until his nails painfully dug into his palm.

“Slide the laptop over,” Blaine commanded. The coldness in his voice rattled Sebastian so severely that he involuntarily did as he was told. Blaine slowly picked up the laptop when it stopped next to his foot- the gun was still trained on Sebastian.

He internally wondered if being shot during his many field cases would hurt more compared to having _Blaine_ point a gun at him. “What now?” Sebastian asked dejectedly.

Blaine sadly smiled. “I know my word means very little to you right now, but please know- I love you with everything that I am. And I am never _not me_ with you. I am more myself with you than anyone I have ever known; there was just a fragment of me that I didn’t share- because I wasn’t ready. I always wanted to tell you, Sebastian. Always.”

Sebastian wanted to believe Blaine. His heart that was so fiercely _Blaine’s_ ached to believe- but in that moment, it was too damaged, too broken to even consider the truth of Blaine’s words. Why should he believe Blaine now? Their meeting was a planned accident. Their three years together was a ruse. Sebastian didn’t know what Blaine expected of him- what he was expected to say or do. The silence hung heavily between them and he did nothing to break it.

With a sigh, Blaine started to back away from Sebastian toward the back of the house; gun still levelled at him. He didn’t move even when Blaine was out of sight; he couldn’t. He was too paralyzed by everything that had just transpired- events that had turned his world upside down.

Sebastian heard the kitchen door open and before it nestled back into the frame, he heard Blaine mutter a soft, sad farewell: “Goodbye, Sebastian.”

Then, a numbing stillness blanketed every crevice of the house.

Sebastian was alone.

 

\---

 

_Sebastian felt lazy circles being drawn on his bare chest. He smiled before he opened his eyes but in his mind, he could see his husband’s smile- its brightness rivalling the morning sun._

_“Hey you,” came Blaine’s voice. “Anything special you’d like for breakfast?”_

_“Depends,” he answered lazily, not bothering to open his eyes._

_“On what?”_

_“Are you on the menu?”_

_His sleepy attempt at flirtation was met with a playful fist to his forearm. Sebastian yelped indignantly and finally opened his eyes. The sight that greeted him took his breath away; Blaine- tousled curls, bright hazel eyes and a pout on his lips. Beautiful. Sebastian smirked at his husband and rolled them over until their bodies melted into the mattress together._

_“You’re insufferable,” Blaine snickered, a smile solely Sebastian’s plastered on his lips._

_Sebastian leaned down to softly bump their noses together. “You love me just the same.”_

_Blaine acted as though he was contemplating Sebastian’s statement for a moment before he agreed. “Yes. I do. I love you just the same.”_

_Blaine then craned his neck to push his lips against Sebastian’s- a kiss like every other but entirely new at the same time, every single time; one that never failed to leave him breathless after they’ve parted._

_And quite breathlessly, Sebastian whispered onto Blaine’s lips, “Happy Anniversary.”_

The din of the warehouse slowly coaxed Sebastian’s mind back to the present. The hours that followed Blaine’s departure passed in a blur. Sebastian vaguely remembered falling asleep, perhaps he didn’t. His body was on auto-pilot and his mind was in a haze. The ever present hurt thrummed beneath his skin and numbed his mind.

Blaine was Manumit.

And Blaine was gone.

Sebastian had debriefed his partner and Assistant Director Washington of all that happened the minute he arrived at the warehouse. He also disclosed that, despite it being against the Bureau’s policies, Sebastian had regularly taken case files home with him.

“The case files contained detailed information about our operations. You might as well have handed everything we knew about Manumit to him,” Assistant Director Washington bellowed as she paced her office clearly trying to contain her anger.

“I didn’t think it-,” Sebastian started but was soon cut off.

“That’s right, Agent! You didn’t _think_!”

Sebastian let silence fall in the room. There was nothing left to say. He knew it was a felony to bring the case files out of the warehouse, but he did it anyway- because his home was the safest place he could think of; the home he built with Blaine. And he had trusted Blaine; he trusted Blaine with his heart, his life.

A fresh, raw pain ripped through his chest. How could he have been so blind to Blaine’s deception? He was trained to be observant, to find the minutest detail in the larger scheme of things, in a person’s behaviour. So how could he have not detected Blaine’s lies?

_Unless-_

Unless Blaine never lied; that everything he had said about falling in love with Sebastian, about never being anyone but himself with Sebastian- those were the truth.

_No_.

As much as the Protective Husband side of Sebastian wanted to believe it, the Federal Agent side refused to entertain such notions. As far as the latter side was concerned, Blaine was part of a criminal organization and he had strategically positioned himself in Sebastian’s life for insider information.

Assistant Director Washington stopped her pacing and rounded her desk to seat herself behind it. She let out a long, exasperated sigh before she trained her eyes on Sebastian.

“The Bureau will launch an inquiry into your severe lack of judgement. You are hereby suspended of your duties until your review is up.”

Sebastian felt a surge of adrenaline rush through him and all but shouted, “You can’t take me off this case!”

His superior arched a challenging eyebrow but remained silent. Sebastian quickly composed himself and tried to remain calm. He needed to persuade the Assistant Director that if there was anyone who could track down and dismantle Manumit now, it’d be him.

“I have been the case agent on everything pertaining to Manumit longer than anyone here, including Agent Clarington. I know the case inside and out and now, I have the upper hand,” Sebastian explained.

“How so?”

“I have known Blaine for three years. In those years I have shared my life with him,” Sebastian chocked, trying hard to keep his emotions in check. He was on the brink of tears but he needed to keep his feelings under control. He needed to prove that he was strong enough to stay on the case- that he wasn’t emotionally compromised, and find Manumit.

And Blaine.

“And in those years, Blaine shared his life with me. I know him! Now that I know he’s behind Manumit, I can predict his next move, I can track their activities,” Sebastian explained.

Blaine had said he was more himself with Sebastian than anyone else. It reminded him of a George Bernard Shaw quote that Blaine liked to repeat: “ _There are no secrets better kept than the secret that everybody guesses_.” It was the best disguise; to be yourself when everyone expects you to have played a deceiving role, a persona.

Sebastian’s instinct led him to believe that Blaine was telling the truth about that; he was always himself with Sebastian, which meant Sebastian knew how Blaine’s mind worked- his preferences, what made him tick. This could prove to be the Cyber Division’s greatest advantage and Manumit’s undoing.

“He’s right,” Hunter said, speaking up for the first time since the debriefing began. “Given the circumstances, if anyone can take down Manumit, it’s Agent Smythe.”

Hunter looked over at Sebastian and gave him a slight nod which he returned with a nod of his own; a gesture that loudly relayed his gratitude for his partner’s vote of confidence.

In the silence that followed, Sebastian swore he could hear the drumming of his own heart in his chest and the loud thoughts resonating in the Assistant Director’s head as she contemplated the next course of action.

“Fine!” she exhaled. “Find Manumit. Take them down. In the mean time, I’ll take care of things with the directors concerning your situation, Agent Smythe.”

Relief flooded Sebastian. He wanted this; he needed to be the one to find Manumit, to find Blaine because if he was being honest with himself, he wanted to do it for himself- for the Protective Husband who was hurting. He needed answers, although he’s not quite sure he knew the questions.

He was about to follow Hunter out of the Assistant Director’s office when she softly called out to him. Sebastian turned to face his superior who had a rueful look on her face. She rose from her seat and stood directly in front of Sebastian.

She remained silent and only offered a gentle squeeze of his shoulder; a gesture that conveyed the unspoken-

_I’m sorry about Blaine_.

\---

 

The crescent moon hung low in the night sky as Sebastian climbed up the steps to his front door with heavy soles. He dreaded coming home- no, it wasn’t a home anymore. It was just an empty space now; a sepulchre for the memories of their lives together- him and Blaine.

The dark that greeted him as he stepped inside the house seemed heavier, thicker. No music drifted from the study where Blaine would play the piano. No delicious aroma wafting from the kitchen where Blaine would make them dinner. No laughter flitting from the lips of a gorgeous man he loved so dearly.

No Blaine.

The reality that dawned on him caused Sebastian to fall back against the nearest wall and slump down to floor- a crumpled mess of a man.

For the first time since Blaine left, Sebastian let himself feel; the charred remains of his heart singed by betrayal, the void inside his soul where Blaine used to be.

And for the first time since Blaine left, Sebastian let himself cry.

He cried until his chest burned, his face drenched from the downpour of tears. A single emotion floated above all others amidst the torrent of tears-rising even higher than the hurt he felt; for the first time in a long time, Sebastian felt utterly alone.

Hours passed before Sebastian calmed into hushed sobs. It wasn’t until he heard a sound coming from down the hall that he picked himself up from where he had crumbled to the floor and followed the noise.

He made his way in the darkness, his muscle memory guiding him seamlessly through the house until he stopped in front of a door. The sound he heard was of Norton scratching at the door to the study; he was looking for Blaine.

The sight of Norton desperately mewing and grasping under the door brought a renewed sense of pain and loneliness. If he had anymore tears or energy, Sebastian was sure he would start crying all over again. Instead, he bent down to pick the kitten up and held him close to his chest.

“Me, too, buddy,” Sebastian whispered, as Norton snuggled into Sebastian’s touch- the kitten’s sorrow mirroring Sebastian’s. “Me, too.”

\---

 

Sebastian was greeted with the familiar sounds of the city rising along with the sun as he made his way across the street; the chirping of birds and the hum of car engines in traffic filling the air. He slowly climbed the steps to the Chang’s residence with Norton tucked snugly in his arms.

Since they moved to the neighbourhood, Tina Cohen-Chang and her husband, Mike, had lived across the street from them. In the time they have known each other, the two families have been good friends. The Changs had a daughter, who took piano lessons with Blaine after school. And she adored Norton.

Tina answered the door with her usual jovial disposition not long after Sebastian firmly rapped his knuckles on the wood.

“Sebastian, hi!” Tina chirped. “What brings you here so early?”

He smiled in greeting before holding out the little kitten. “Hey, love. I was wondering if you guys wouldn’t mind taking Norton off our hands for awhile. I know the little miss would love it.”

“Oh, no problem. The little miss would _definitely_ love this,” Tina said without any hesitation as she reached out to take the kitten from Sebastian. “Are you and Blaine going away or something?”

The cheeky tone in her question sliced at his already bleeding heart and he winced at the invisible pain. He secretly wished the reason he was handing off Norton to the Changs was because he and Blaine were about to jet off to some exotic destination together; away from Manumit, away from reality.

“No, I- I have been really busy at work and it’s about to get crazier. Blaine’s away, so I thought it’d be best for Norton to be with you guys,” Sebastian explained as he forced a smile, keeping details about Blaine to a minimum.

“Sure, Sebastian. Anything for you guys, and for this little guy,” Tina cooed as she muzzled her face into Norton’s fur and she was rewarded with a loud purr.

“Thank you, Tina. I really appreciate it,” Sebastian expressed. He gave Norton’s fur one last ruffle and started to walk down the steps to his car.

“When’s Blaine coming back?” Tina called out after him when he was halfway across the street. He pretended not to hear her; he had to- or else he would breakdown right there in the middle of the street.

As he reached his car parked outside his once-home, Sebastian whispered the answer to Tina’s question- releasing it to the wind as if it could carry his pain along with the words:

“He’s not.”

\---

 

Sebastian sipped the lukewarm coffee as he stared at the wall littered with documents and photographs and strings that connected one to the other in a manner that only he could decipher. He had been up much earlier than the sun and continued his pursuit of Manumit in the motel room that served as his home since Blaine left.

The bland state of the tiny room did little to comfort the hurt and loneliness that echoed from the hollowness within, but it was better than going back to the house. In the past two weeks, Sebastian had returned to their former home only once after leaving Norton with the Changs. He found himself nailed to the floor at the foot of their bed, just staring. Sebastian felt himself drown in memories of Blaine and was severely tempted to curl up on the side of the bed his husband once occupied to let the smell of him that lingered on the pillow and the sheets consume him.

Sebastian was overwhelmed repeatedly by the crippling pain of Blaine’s absence that rang loudly in the silence of the house. That was when he decided to pack up his clothes and leave; and never once did he look back.

The hum of the air conditioner filled the boxy motel room as Sebastian steered his focus from the wall to the three laptop screens on the desk before him.

One screen was used to scour through the internet for any whispers of Manumit in forums and chat rooms frequented by its ‘fans’.

One screen was used to review all the files the Bureau had on Manumit; the organization’s modus operandi, their previous attacks and the code that led them to Quinn Fabray.

The final screen was used to monitor a search; Sebastian had written a program to comb through every router hub in the state to locate codes or patches that were similar to Quinn Fabray’s. He knew that Manumit heavily encrypted their data and IP addresses that bounced around the world twice before reaching its intended recipient. He also knew that every data sent out over the internet goes through a router hub before it is distributed. As the data is sent from the router hub to a slow server, it leaves a copy of itself behind; a shadow file.

Sebastian spent two weeks writing a specific program and running it through the shadow files. There hasn’t been much activity on Manumit’s part since he discovered Blaine’s role in it- perhaps they were being discreet knowing that Sebastian and the task force were onto them. It should come as a relief for National Security that Manumit weren’t active at the moment, but the lack of activity meant that there weren’t any new leads for Sebastian to follow, to close the distance between him and Blaine. Scouring the shadow files took up precious time but it was the only option Sebastian had left.

An urgent beep came from one of the screens; the one monitoring the search of codes. After two weeks, the program finally found a pattern.

Squinting hard at the screen, Sebastian felt a triumphant wave crash into him. “Gotcha,” he breathed with a smile.

\---

 

Sebastian arrived at the warehouse in a haze of adrenaline. He finally had something that can lead him to Manumit, to Blaine.

He had quickly brought Hunter and the team up to speed and now they all worked on deciphering the code to uncover a hidden IP address. With the IP address, they would be able to locate where the data came from and possibly lead them- _him_ , straight to Blaine.

Hours passed with only the fierce click-clacking sound of fingers hitting keyboard keys filling the room. Sebastian felt his eyes water behind his glasses from staring at thousands of line of codes- but he couldn’t stop. Not now. He was close to finding something- he knew it. He could feel it buzzing under his skin, in his gut.

Then, like the sun breaking through dark storm clouds, he found it; the one piece of information he needed. Sebastian ran his findings through a few more programs and databases until he found a hit. One name:

Sam Evans.

\---

 

Hunter and Sebastian were headed to an apartment near the Eastern Market listed as Sam Evans’ last known address. He looked out the window, staring at the passing traffic and buildings as he willed himself to calm down.

Every nerve in his body was on edge since they left the warehouse. Both his Federal Agent and Protective Husband sides whirred with excitement albeit for different reasons; The Federal Agent side always loved solving a problem, a puzzle- Sam Evans was a new piece of an intricate puzzle he had worked his entire career to solve, and the Protective Husband side was thrilled at the prospect of getting a step closer to seeing Blaine again- because one emotion ferociously trumped the hurt, the betrayal, the heartbreak: he _missed_ Blaine.

As if he heard Sebastian’s thoughts, Hunter broke the silence with a question: “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Sebastian huffed a non-committal reply.

Hunter eyed him from the driver’s seat, an apparent _I don’t believe you_ etched in his expression. “It’s alright to say that you’re not, you know?”

It irked Sebastian that Hunter would ask him this now when his partner knew there wasn’t a way for him to escape; the car served as an interrogation room- Hunter’s home ground. He was ready to shut Hunter down with a playful threat or to give him the silent treatment altogether, but before his mind caught up to his mouth, the words were already flowing:

“What do you want me to say, Hunter? Of course I’m not okay. Nothing about this is okay,” Sebastian bellowed. “I lost the love of my life. Yeah, it wasn’t like he died; he’s somewhere out there. But to lose him like this? It feels just as permanent.”

They fall back into silence which Sebastian was grateful for. It felt good to voice what he felt, how he felt- the past two weeks were his loneliest. He silently thanked Hunter for asking, giving him the outlet to vent.

They drove for another five minutes before Hunter pulled up to a curb outside an apartment building.

“This is it,” Hunter confirmed as they both climbed out of the car; their credentials hung around their necks.

They climbed up to the third floor and found Sam Evans’ door- down the corridor, second door on the right. Hunter banged the side of his fist on the door and they waited. They heard faint footsteps from within. Hunter tried again, this time they announced themselves.

“Sam Evans. FBI. Open up.”

A loud crash and a series of frantic scrambling came from the other side of the door. Sebastian knew that sound all too well.

“He’s gonna run,” Sebastian stated.

Hunter sighed as he unholstered his gun and Sebastian did the same. With a heave of his right foot, the sound of wood splitting filled the corridor as Hunter kicked the door in. They covered each other as they entered the apartment, guns drawn.

Sebastian took in the surroundings; the living space didn’t scream _hacker_. He imagined it’d be dark- the only light illuminating the room would be from the multiple computer screens. But this apartment- it was homey, albeit slightly in disarray where folders and papers and two laptops were scattered on the dining table. It looked and felt like the home he shared with Blaine.

For a split second, Sebastian thought maybe Sam Evans had a partner or a spouse that he, too, had been lying to about Manumit. A ripple of betrayal launched itself inside Sebastian, tearing at an already gaping wound. He needed to find Sam Evans. He needed answers- about Manumit, about Blaine.

As they entered the living room, Sebastian caught sight of a head of blonde disappearing out the window and down the fire escape.

“Why do they always run?” Hunter exclaimed exasperatedly.

“Call backup and CSU. We need to process this apartment. There might be answers we need here. I’ll cut him off at the alley,” Sebastian suggested, half-jogging out of the apartment.

His heart beat wildly as he raced down the stairs and dashed through the building’s side exit. A few feet away, his eyes found the head of blonde trying and failing at climbing a fence.

“Sam Evans. Freeze!” Sebastian shouted, gun trained on Sam Evans’ back.

Evans glanced back at Sebastian and settled himself back on the ground slowly. With his gun still fixed on Evans, Sebastian cautiously approached his suspect. Evans turned to face him and he saw something in the man’s eyes, something he wasn’t sure he could explain but it was something familiar that he related to; Sam Evans looked lost.

Sebastian’s mind took him back to Evans’ apartment. Despite its homey ambience, he could tell that the home was missing something- _someone_.

Sebastian shook off his thoughts and commanded Evans to turn around. “Raise your hands above your head, and interlock your fingers behind your head,” Sebastian ordered. When Evans complied, he closed the distance between them and reholstered his gun as he reached for a zip-tie cuff from his back pocket.

Before he could cuff the man, Sebastian was overcome by the need to ask one important: “Where’s Blaine Anderson?”

“What?” Evans asked with a trace of surprise and confusion in his voice.

“Blaine Anderson. Where is he?” Sebastian repeated rather impatiently.

“It’s you!” Evans said. “You’re the one who has her!”

“Smythe,” Hunter’s voice barked from behind him.

It happened so quickly.

In the moment that Sebastian was distracted by his partner calling him, Evans took the opportunity to drive the back of his head into Sebastian’s face. The force of it made him reel back a step. He tried his best to quickly regain his bearings but Evans shoved him hard to the ground and grabbed his gun.

Two shots were fired.

And Evans fled down the alley.

Sebastian scrambled to his feet and started to give chase. That was when he saw it; Hunter, on the ground- bleeding.

“Hunter!” Sebastian yelled as panic rose in his chest. Sebastian ran up to his partner and slid down by his side. He made a quick assessment of Hunter’s injuries; a singular gunshot wound to his shoulder. Nothing else. Relief washed over him when Hunter groaned.

“Hunter. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Hunter breathed as another pained groan escaped him.

The moment he knew his partner was alright, a war erupted inside of him; he desperately wanted to go after Sam Evans- his only link to Blaine, but he was weighted by the obligation to stay by Hunter’s side. He went back and forth in his head; to go, to stay.

Another groan came from Hunter as he tried and failed to sit up. And Sebastian’s decision was made for him; he couldn’t leave- not with Hunter’s condition. He might be fine but Hunter was losing a lot of blood.

“Hang in there, man,” Sebastian comforted as he dialled for an ambulance.

A few minutes later, backup and medics arrived; Hunter was taken to the hospital.

Sebastian stood rooted in the alley long after the ambulance drove away. Local officers and CSU had started processing the scene and Evans’ apartment but he still stood there in the alley; Sam Evans was gone and along with it Sebastian’s chance of finding Blaine.

If he was being honest with himself, his interest with the case stopped being about Manumit two weeks ago.

Now, all that mattered was Blaine.

\---

 

For the first time since the special task force was established, they were finally closing in on Manumit- all thanks to Sam Evans.

Sebastian could tell that Sam Evans was unravelling; the way Manumit operated was calculated, attacks executed with precision- but since their encounter in the alley, Sam Evans had become careless. And Sebastian had an inkling as to why he was unravelling:

Quinn Fabray.

After a sweep of Evans’ residence and a thorough background check on Sam Evans, Sebastian learned that Sam Evans and Quinn Fabray were married. Since the FBI had Fabray in custody, Evans has been trying to locate the facility where they were holding her. The Trojan horses he inserted in the government servers weren’t as carefully disguised and his IP addresses weren’t as skilfully encrypted; he was practically leaving Sebastian and the task force bread crumbs that led straight to what was suspected to be Manumit’s base of operations- their headquarters.

He could relate to Evans; if it weren’t for his job with the Bureau- and even Hunter, he would be unravelling, too, after he lost Blaine. Sebastian found himself envying Evans and Fabray. It was absurd, he admitted, but he did envy them; they were a part of Manumit _together_.

He secretly wished he’d known the truth about Blaine sooner. Then maybe, Blaine would still be at home, waiting for him- maybe then he wouldn’t be alone.

Maybe it was foolish of him to think it because at the end of the day, Sebastian was still a Federal agent. He had his duties, his obligations and he was bound by oath. So, what does it matter _when_ he found out about Blaine? Every scenario he mentally calibrated would eventually lead to this; Sebastian working to take down Manumit.

It has been two days since the incident in the alley, and Sebastian and the task force had gathered enough intelligence to move in on Manumit.

Now, Sebastian leaned against a surveillance van parked outside of an abandoned hotel building in Georgetown that served as Manumit’s headquarters, anxiously waiting for SWAT to finish their perimeter sweep.

He inspected his new service weapon and was adjusting the straps on his Kevlar when a voice sounded in his earpiece-

“You alright, Smythe?”

He pressed on his chest to activate the tiny microphone wired inside his Kevlar; a means to stay in touch with the surveillance team. “I can ask you the same thing. You shouldn’t be here, Hunter. You should be resting,” Sebastian stated sternly but he couldn’t help the smile growing on his lips; he was glad his partner was okay and that he was here.

“Are you kidding me? We’ve worked years for this. I’ll be damned if I’m not here for the take down.” Hunter’s voice rang in his earpiece a little bit too loud. “Even if it means I’m stuck in this surveillance van, at least I’m here.”

Sebastian chuckled at Hunter’s determination; the wound in his shoulder was patched up nicely but the bullet had caused a fracture where it had lodged in the clavicle, leaving Hunter’s arm in a sling and unfit to participate in the take down other than staying in the van.

“Agent Smythe,” The SWAT captain called as he stopped by Sebastian’s side. “Thermal imaging shows three suspects on the ground floor and another two on the second floor.” He peered at the gadget’s screen and silently wondered which one was Blaine- if Blaine was even there.

“Okay, Captain. We’re going in.”

He ran their plan by all involved one last time before they took their place at the point of entry. For a place that housed some of the finest hackers Sebastian has ever seen, the building severely lacked security. Sebastian and a team of three made their way to the building’s main entrance easily while another team of two took the back entrance.

The adrenaline coursing through his veins heated his skin and his heart thudded at a breakneck pace. This was it- for his Federal Agent side, it was the moment he waited for since he joined the Manumit task force; for his Protective Husband side, it may be the moment he would finally see Blaine again.

His mind wandered to the memory of Blaine; the sight of him, the scent that was uniquely _Blaine_ , the sound of his voice and Sebastian wanted nothing more than to drown in them all.

A signal from the captain jolted Sebastian out his wanderings. _Not now_ , he scolded himself, _Focus_.

Sebastian held his gun out, pointing it downwards as one of the SWAT members kicked in the door and threw in a flash grenade.

A blinding light erupted inside the building. The captain swiftly moved in, Sebastian and the rest followed closely.

Commands of “ _Don’t move_ ” and “ _Step away from the desk_ ” were barked over panicked murmurs of the three Manumit suspects in the room. Sebastian’s eyes quickly scanned their faces.

No Blaine.

Then, he remembered the two figures the thermal imaging picked up on the second floor and before he could process the situation, his feet were already taking the steps up two at a time.

As Sebastian raced up the stairs, he heard footsteps running up the flights above him; someone was heading up to the rooftop. Without thinking, or reporting his status to Hunter, Sebastian picked up his pace and gave chase.

He kicked the rooftop access door open, gun firm in his grip. The area was quiet; only the lights of surrounding buildings and a nearby oversized billboard illuminated the open space. Sebastian started to walk to the edge of the wall of the rooftop entrance, listening for any movement.

Perhaps he was too winded from rushing up the stairs; perhaps he was too consumed by the possibility of seeing Blaine again that he wasn’t as alert as he should have been.

He was about to turn the corner at the end of the wall when his face made contact with a hilt of a gun that seemingly came out of nowhere. As Sebastian stumbled backwards from the force and the pain in his face, he felt his gun being knocked out of his hands.

When he finally found his balance again, Sebastian found himself staring down the barrel of a gun- with Sam Evans at the other end of it.

“Where is she?” Evans shouted.

“What?” Sebastian sputtered, still disoriented from the blow.

“Quinn Fabray. My wife. Where are you holding her?” Evans repeated, desperation bled through his voice.

“It’s over Evans. This building is surrounded,” Sebastian declared, trying to regain control of the situation.

Evans levelled the gun to Sebastian’s face, the faint click of him pulling back the hammer pierced through the night air.

“I will ask you one more time; where are you keeping my wife?” Evans snarled through gritted teeth.

It was then that Sebastian truly saw Sam Evans; the shell of a man- desperate and hollow. He was lost without his wife.

And Sam Evans reflected every bit of Sebastian.

It was then that Sebastian truly realized just how much of him was occupied by Blaine; there wasn’t a crevice of his being that didn’t house Blaine- that didn’t belong to Blaine.

And it was then that he truly realized that despite the hurt and heartbreak, he would do anything to get Blaine back.

“I know what it’s like, Evans. To be without the one you love,” Sebastian confessed. He saw Evans’ jaw muscles flex- a reaction he’s seen Hunter coax out of suspects before; he had hit a nerve.

“You don’t know the first thing about me,” Evans barked.

“I know you feel lost and empty and-”

“If you know so much-,” Evans cut in. “If you _understand_... Then, please, tell me where she is.”

The plea pierced through Sebastian. The Protective Husband side of him that related to Evans wanted to cave to the demands because he knew all too well the desperation that must be clawing in the other man’s chest- the desperation of wanting something, _someone_ back.

Members of Manumit have never been known to be violent or so much as have any physical confrontation, but Sam Evans was standing before him- a gun aimed at his face; a testament to the lengths a desperate man would go to in order to be reunited with his love.

But the Federal Agent side of Sebastian stood firm. _We don’t negotiate with criminals_ , the duty-bound side reminded him.

“You know I can’t do that.”

Without warning, the desperation in Sam Evans eyes was replaced with frustration, then anger. His face twisted in disgust as he took a step forward. “Then you’re of no use to me.”

Time seemed to slow down. Sebastian could see the muscles of the other man’s fingers twitch on the trigger.

The deafening bang of a gun rang in the air. A pained whimper followed.

Sebastian braced for the pain.

But it never came.

Sam Evans slumped to the ground, clutching his kneecap. Sebastian blinked away his confusion and quickly kicked away the gun that Evans had dropped. He strained hard in the darkness to find the source of the shot.

Then, like an answered prayer, Blaine stepped out of the shadows.

Sebastian drank in the sight of him; his messy curls, the scruff that blanketed his jawline, his tired eyes- Blaine looked as hollowed out as Sam Evans, as _him_. A curious sense of comfort filled Sebastian at the realization that Blaine looked as distraught as he was.

He craved to run up to Blaine and bury himself in his husband’s arms- to melt into him, to be one again. He almost did, until he saw that Blaine was still holding a gun.

“You shot one of your own? Doesn’t Manumit pride itself in being a family?” Sebastian said coolly, trying hard to manage the anger, the _missing_ , the betrayal, the hurt, the thousand and one emotions tumbling within that resurfaced at the sight of Blaine. “Are you gonna shoot me too?” His voice was small as his eyes fell on the gun in Blaine’s hands.

Without a word, Blaine released the magazine and pulled back the slide to empty the bullet in the chamber. He did it with such grace and skill that Sebastian couldn’t help but be in awe of this side of his husband. Then, Blaine tossed the pieces to the ground.

“You know well enough that I abhor violence. Sam was spiralling. He hasn’t been the same since Quinn was taken away. He was becoming a danger to himself and to others,” Blaine replied, composed- the diplomacy in his tone unmistakable.

Sebastian revelled in the music of his voice; the sound he had been deprived of for what felt like an eternity.

“Besides,” Blaine continued, “- I _was_ protecting my family.”

The weight behind the meaning of Blaine’s words sank into every layer of skin, rode his bloodstream and settled in his heart.

Yes. Blaine hated violence. And yet he had pulled the trigger, to protect _him._ _Family_.

The gesture of it all was monumental. He realized that just as he would do anything for Blaine, Blaine would do anything for him.

Sebastian chanced a step forward, every fibre of his being gravitating towards the man before him- the love of his life.

“Sebastian! Sebastian, are you alright?” Hunter’s voice boomed in his ear, stopping Sebastian from going any further.

“I’m fine,” Sebastian confirmed as he pressed his hand over the microphone. “Evans is down.”

Sebastian looked down at the man on the ground; other than being shot in the kneecap and no doubt experiencing severe pain, Sam Evans was fine.

“SWAT will be here in less than a minute,” Sebastian announced.

“Good. Let them come,” Blaine said calmly.

Panic rose in Sebastian’s throat. “What?” He breathed. He was reminded of their last conversation:

_“I will never deliberately hurt you, but I cannot let you turn me in. I still have a lot to do. Manumit still has a lot to do.”_

Red flags popped up at the back of Sebastian’s mind and he warily turned Blaine’s words over. He wouldn’t let himself be turned in two weeks ago- so what did he mean by “ _Let them come_ ”? What changed?

As if he heard Sebastian’s thoughts, Blaine confessed, “I can’t live like this. Let them come.” He ran his hands over his face, whatever composure he had was crumbling.

“As a fugitive? You should’ve thought of that before you decided to become a criminal mastermind,” Sebastian muttered, his tone was half teasing.

A small smile curled on Blaine’s lips, Sebastian was enamoured by the sight.

“No. I mean like this- you thinking of me as some kind of monster,” Blaine explained.

Sebastian stayed silent but Blaine picked up on the arch of his eyebrows as sign to elaborate.

“I can’t live like this; knowing that you think our life together was a lie, that I was just with you for information, that I don’t love you. So if turning myself in will set things right- will make you see that _nothing_ matters to me more than you; that as much as I stand by my beliefs of Manumit- your belief in me, in us, is all I care about?- then let them come,” Blaine exclaimed, slightly breathless.

The confession crashed over Sebastian, slowly but surely started to fill the hollowness within him; reclaiming every recess that had been devoid of _Blaine_. In that moment, everything that happened two weeks ago ceased to matter:

Not the fact that he learned of Blaine’s involvement with Manumit.

Not the fact that the betrayal trashed his world and his heart.

Not the fact that Blaine had pointed a gun at him and left.

Nothing- none of it mattered.

“Go,” Sebastian breathed.

Confusion riddled Blaine’s face. “What?”

“Go!” Sebastian repeated, a little louder. “If they take you in, you’re going away for a really long time.”

But Blaine didn’t move. He was sure _this_ wasn’t the reaction Blaine had expected.

“If they take you in-,” Sebastian continued, his own desperation bleeding through, “-I will never see you again.”

Blaine’s eyes found his, and it softened. His husband understood- Blaine knew exactly what he was trying to say; something innate between them where one would understand the multitude of meanings behind the other’s limited words.

Blaine understood, but he’ll say it anyway- more for his own sake than Blaine’s:

“I can’t live without you.”

And there it was- the truth both his Federal Agent and Protective Husband sides had in common; he cannot live without Blaine.

If they apprehended Blaine, there will always be walls, and bars, and glass between them- not to mention the red tape the Bureau will put up to separate them, given the personal nature of his relationship with Blaine. So, no, Sebastian won’t let them detain Blaine. In a way, he just got Blaine back- and he wasn’t about to lose him again.

Blaine started to close the distance between them and Sebastian braced for the euphoria of touching, feeling Blaine again.

But footsteps thundered somewhere behind them; the SWAT team was close.

“Go,” Sebastian whispered one last time.

With a nod, Blaine turned and disappeared back in the shadows.

Sebastian crouched down next to a bleeding Sam Evans if only to give himself something to do. His hands trembled along with his entire body; he missed Blaine already. Sebastian gathered every ounce of will power to remain where he was and not run after Blaine, to run away with Blaine.

At the exact moment the rooftop entrance burst open and SWAT spilled out onto the open space, Sebastian caught a glimpse of Blaine’s head of curls disappearing over the edge where he climbed down the fire escape’s steel ladder.

And once again, Blaine was gone.

But it was different this time; there was no dread, no emptiness, no heavy silence.

This time, there was hope: Sebastian will see Blaine again.

\---

 

The rustling of footsteps blended with the murmur of the commuters milling about him. Sebastian leaned back on the bench as he watched the people shuffle past. He nursed his coffee cautiously out of the paper cup and gingerly checked the time on the enormous clock face that hovered in the middle of the train station.

It’s almost time; time to leave it all behind.

The past two weeks had trickled by in a blur.

Barely twenty-four hours after the raid of Manumit’s headquarters, the Cyber Division’s servers were hacked in a manner so swift and surgical that none of their security measures stood a chance. More than half of the task force’s data on Manumit were wiped clean; the pattern of codes Sebastian had worked hard to uncover, the trails that led to Quinn Fabray and Sam Evans- all gone. Even the serial numbers of Manumit case files’ hard copies were scrambled; now lost in the vastness of archives. It could take years before the Bureau will be able to recover them.

Only one person was capable of such a task: Blaine Anderson.

Sebastian couldn’t help the pride that rose in his chest. Even before he knew Blaine was behind Manumit, he always secretly admired the ingenuity of the person behind the codes and algorithm and patches.

He wondered why Blaine hadn’t done all this sooner- erase any trace of Manumit the task force had.

But Manumit was never about evading detection; it was about being heard. Manumit was about informing the people what their government was capable of, that they were being watched- not in a way they were being looked after but that they were spied on.

Without any definitive evidence, the Bureau was forced to release those detained during the raid of Manumit’s headquarters, including Quinn Fabray.

Trust Blaine to always protect his family; and that he would go to great lengths to do so- even if it meant launching a one-man mission to infiltrate one of the most secure servers in the country, even if it meant shooting a friend in the kneecap.

Because the truth was that when Blaine shot Evans, it wasn’t just to protect Sebastian- it was to protect Evans too. “ _Sam was spiralling. He was becoming a danger to himself and to others_ ” Blaine had said.

Sebastian knew that Sam Evans heard the entire exchange he had with Blaine. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t worried that Evans would expose him; that he let Blaine escape. But Evans didn’t; perhaps it was due to the camaraderie between fellow Manumit members, or perhaps he couldn’t care less about anything or anyone else now that he was free (thanks to a clerical error that dismissed him of wounding Hunter Clarington) and reunited with his love.

A week after the raid, Sebastian was investigated by Internal Affairs. They accused Sebastian of providing Manumit with details of their investigations judging from the case files he brought home. They found out that Blaine had been at the abandoned hotel the night of the raid and suspected that Sebastian had deliberately allowed him to escape. They were half right.

The results of the investigation were reviewed by the members of the board. They lacked evidence to indict Sebastian; that he had known about Blaine and Manumit from the get-go. But they also felt they couldn’t keep him with the Bureau- deeming him a liability.

So, Sebastian packed up his desk, and his life in Washington D.C. He thought he would feel betrayed- being chucked out by the agency that he had so loyally served, but all he felt was indifferent. As much as he loved cracking codes and solving puzzles, the job did take a toll on him. The only reason he managed to keep on going was Blaine. At the end of the day, Blaine was always there; his support, his source of comfort, his home. Without Blaine, he was just... tired.

He needed a fresh start.

And now, Sebastian sat in the middle of the station as he waited for a train that would take him to Cambridge- where a new life and a teaching job at Massachusetts Institute of Technology waited for him.

When Sebastian finally boarded the train, he picked a seat by the window. He wanted to look out over the city one last time; a last goodbye to the city that had been his home for years, the city that had bore witness to him literally bumping into the love of his life.

His mind began to wander to Blaine; something it did out of its own volition a lot lately. Moments they shared together flashed in his mind’s eye like a movie’s montage reel; their first date, their first kiss, their first fight and how Sebastian had stormed off only to drive back to apologize, all the times they made love, every birthday, every Christmas.

Sebastian was suddenly overwhelmed by the onslaught of memories and he would’ve surely drowned in them if it weren’t for the body that fell into the seat next to him, interrupting his train of thought.

A smile so wide crept on his lips, familiar warmth spread through him. Sebastian didn’t need to look away from the window to know; his soul recognized the presence immediately.

A hand slipped into his, fingers slotted perfectly together- like missing pieces settling in its rightful place. Only then did he turn to face the body next to him. The sight that greeted him took his breath away; it was beautiful- it was home.

The pair of hazel eyes looking back at him glinted with such tenderness and affection that Sebastian found himself lost in it; an alarmingly pleasant sensation.

“Hi,” Blaine whispered, a small smile curling at the corners of his mouth and it was all Sebastian needed to surge forward to capture his husband’s lips with his own.

He kissed Blaine hungrily, as if his survival and sanity depended on it.

Blaine reciprocated just as hungrily.

The train began to move, leaving behind the city and the life Sebastian once had there. In between the kisses and the heartbeats, a thought quietly crept at the back of his mind:

‘ _We must die to one life before we can enter another_ ’

Yes, he thought. Sebastian would gladly die to a thousand lives if it meant he will enter another with Blaine at his side.

\---end

**Author's Note:**

> This is a work of fiction; I neither have qualms with **any** government nor do I condone **any** form of crime.
> 
> Thank you for reading!  
> Comments welcomed.


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